It's the little things
by Wacko101
Summary: A series of one-shots about Percy Jackson and random things I think of. Chapter one: It shouldn't bother him, that didn't mean it couldn't. Chapter two: Rule number one; don't talk about the war to the Veteran demigods who fought in it.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I was in the car going who knows were when this little thing came to mind. I liked it and desided to put it up on here. There may be more little oneshots like this and there may not be. It depends if I think of anything.****(Between you and me I think there will be more in the future. How soon? I don't know.)**

It shouldn't have bothered him.

That didn't mean it couldn't.

He tried to push it of to the side. It wasn't that big a deal. Not compared to some of the other things they needed to focus on. Like winning a war, and you know, trying not to die.

Still he couldn't help but think about it in those rare times he had to catch his breath. When he had a break from training, counselor meetings, going on perilous quests to save the world, keeping up with homework so he doesn't get expelled from school…again.

As rare as those times were, he still thought about it. Sometimes he didn't even notice the thought had crossed his mind until much later. And when he realizes that the thought _had_ crossed his mind yet again he is always upset because it wasn't a big deal. Not really.

It had been an innocent enough question.

_'You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?'_

He would think about that moment over and over in his head and wonder why, to this day, Chiron had never seemed interested in teaching him the trick with the Mist. Thalia had only been in camp for a few months when Chiron had shown her. He had been there years. So why hadn't Chiron wanted to teach him something that could be so useful? Especially since he lived in the mortal world. He could think of numerous times were it would have been helpful. Then there was a matter of trust. He could easily say that he would trust Chiron to do what was best for him, that was what fathers did after all, and that was what Chiron was, the father that he had never really had, and still didn't completely have. Not all the time anyway. Poseidon was not someone who could comfort him after a battle like Chiron did. So did Chiron only think of him as just another camper? A camper that just happened to have a terrible fate thrust upon him?

No. He knew with every fiber of his being that Chiron cared about him. He would have taught him if he felt it necessary. The only things was he could think of many reasons why it could have been necessary.

Still it didn't really matter. It didn't. He had to focus on the war and it wouldn't be necessary in the middle of a battle. So he wasn't taught.

Still... sometimes he just thought of it, wondered for a bit then pushed it away scolding himself for getting distracted and mauling over something that didn't matter.

So he wondered a lot but never let it bother him. After all, it wasn't a big deal.

So why was he acting like it was?


	2. Chapter 2

When Percy had asked the gods to claim their children before the age of thirteen he hadn't taken into a count how many Demigods there were in the world.

It seemed every day at least two new demigods were claimed. This was a good thing of course, every one seemed happier. And everyone was happier, especially considering that a war had recently been fought.

The Demigods who were newer to camp knew about the war of course. Every Demigod knew about the war. You had to know if you were going to know the number one rule in the camp.

Don't talk about the war to the Veteran Demigods who fought in it.

Every camper learned this one way or another. Most of them were told by the satyrs who hadn't been directly involved in the war. Others were told by campers who had been lucky enough to arrive after the war was done.

Once you learned the first rule you quickly understood the second.

Don't ever talk about, mention, hint or even think about the war in front of Percy Jackson.

He was their leader. He had lead the Demigods to victory. He had swam in the river Styx. He had turned down godhood. He had cared enough about them to get them claimed by their parents. And if that wasn't enough he was a kind soul. Nice to everyone he met, unless you threatened one of his friends but no one in camp was stupid enough to do that.

He was a legend. A living, breathing legend. And he was a friend.

So no one wanted to make him upset by remembering everything he had been through.

People were curious though. It was just how they were. The new campers knew they couldn't talk about it to the other campers but that didn't mean they wouldn't talk amongst themselves.

They would huddle together in their groups of friends and talk about what they thought it must have been like. How scary it would have been to be in.

They liked to share rumors they had heard about the war from the tree nymphs and satyrs they came across in New York.

The Aphrodite girls liked to share love stories of people who had been torn apart by the death of their loved ones.

They were always very careful who they talked with and what they said. Especially were they said it and who might listen in. Every now and then they would all somehow end up together and the would share their favorite tales and quests.

And it was one of those days when rule number one _and_ rule number two was broken.

It had been bound to happen. They had started talking to much, thinking they were being perfectly secretive and they had slipped up. Someone had heard what was going on and had followed them.

Only it wasn't just a someone. It was _thee_ someone. The legend that walked among them. It was Percy Jackson who found them huddled together talking excitedly around a big pile of rocks.

They hadn't noticed him at first. Something that was very surprising considering Percy himself seemed of give off a aura that demanded attention no matter were he was.

"I heard that there was a..." One of the younger demigods who was talking excitedly about a rumor he had heard from the sea nymphs was suddenly cut off from a voice behind them.

"What is going on here?"

Every one jumped apart looking for the person who had found them. Imagine their horror when they found Percy Jackson standing there hands in his jean pockets his bright green eyes looking at them in confusion.

"Oh well we were just..."

"Nothing! We were..."

"It was her fault! I thought..."

They all started talking at once trying desperately not to upset their leader.

"Whoa! I can't understand a word you are saying! Can one person tell me what is going on?"

They all immediately stopped talking. One younger Demeter girl started crying. An older sibling of hers tried to shush her.

Percy walked towards her. "Here let me try." He whispered to the older sister before bending down to the little girls height.

"Hey there," He whispered softly. "Why are you crying?"

The little girl, Anna, tried to explain through her sobs. "Are you going to be mad at us?"

The entire clearing seemed to hold its breath waiting for an answer, but an answer never came.

"Why would I be mad at all of you? What were you even doing all the way back here? The woods can be dangerous, you all know that."

One of the sons of Aphrodite, spoke next. "Well we were um... we were back here discussing the battle of Manhattan. We came back here so you wouldn't over hear us."

"Yeah and that worked out." someone muttered but it was only half heard over one of Athena's daughters yelling at the son of Aphrodite.

"Why didn't you make something up! We just broke rule one and two!" And then people started yelling and accusing each other of one thing or another.

Percy for his part didn't completely understand what they were talking about. It was a jumbled up mess of people talking and shouting and Anna by his side was crying again. There were to many people and they all seemed to be shouting about rule one and two. And Percy was at a complete loss on what _those_ were.

So he did the only thing he could do, "HEY! QUIET!" His voice echoed through the now deadly silent clearing.

He cleared his throat, he hadn't even known he could yell that loud. "Good. Now why do you all seem to be under the impression that you are all in trouble? I just followed you guys out here because you looked like you were doing something fun. Now I am worried. What is this all about? What about the battle of Manhattan?"

The same daughter of Athena from before, her name was Kaylee, spoke up again. "Well we came out here to talk about the war because we aren't supposed to talk about it in from of the other campers, you know the ones who fought in it."

For a moment Percy was shocked. "You think you aren't supposed to talk about the war in camp? What on earth gave you that idea?"

Everyone shifted, no longer looking him in the eye. "Well it is rule number one; Don't talk about the war to the Veteran Demigods who fought in it."

"Then what is number two?" Percy asked not sure how to react to rule number one.

A boy named Hunter, son of Hermes spoke up. "Rule number two is a little like number one but it is; Don't ever talk about, mention, hint or even think about the war in front of Percy Jackson."

They all quieted down watching him wondering what he would do. And to everyone's surprise he threw back his head and _laughed_.

Everyone was shocked. Shouldn't he be in sorrow remembering the bloody war? The friends he had lost? Shouldn't he be fighting back tears? Yelling at them to leave and never bring it up again?

They had to wait a few minutes before Percy calmed down enough to talk and when he did the first thing that he said was, "That is the most ridiculous thing I have every heard!"

They all looked at each other not sure what to make of that.

After a minute or two more Percy calmed down and was able to look at them seriously.

"Now you listen, all of you." He paused to make sure he their attention but he shouldn't have bothered, they hadn't been able to take their eyes off him since he had stepped into the clearing. "You can't go through life ignoring something. Not something like the war that went on a few months ago. War is awful, war is bloody, war can be inevitable. Can be, sometimes you can avoid it. Sometimes you can't. It is as simple as that. We had to fight in it. Now we need to make sure that we didn't fight in vain. That we didn't loss loved ones in vain. Because as awful as war can be, we can learn a lot from it. We can learn our mistakes, our strengths, we can become closer. And you can not just ignore it. If you ignore it then you do not learn from it and then you will be doomed to repeat it until you learn the lesson that comes from it. So do not ever not talk about it. Rumors can twist what happened and you might end up learning the wrong lesson. Do you understand?"

The crowed in front of him was speechless. They would have never in a million years thought of it that way.

Anna, the little girl who had sat down on the grass when he had yelled for them to be quiet, looked up at him quickly understanding what she had just been told.

"So can we ask questions? Because I heard that there was a Lydian Drakon. Is that true?"

Percy smiled down at her. "Yeah, that one is true."

And it was like a flood gate had opened. Everyone had questions that they wanted answered. And it was long into the day before they left the forest, people still bubbling for questions that would eventually be answered. They had listened as Percy told them off his quests and the monsters he had fought, the people he had meet, the jokes that had been told. Everyone had laughed, everyone had cried. But now they knew the truth.

"Just remember," Percy had told them as they were walking back to camp, who had no doubt noticed the thirty or so missing people by now. "Some people will talk to you, others won't. But don't feel scared to talk about it, talking is how people heal. Even if they don't feel like they are healing."

So as they walked back into camp, all thirty-one of them, they understood. And rule number one and rule number two were never acknowledged again.


	3. Something special

**This chapter has nothing really to do with the other two. It is just a one shot, the first two chapters can be read together or separately by the way. Whichever one works for you. There will probably be more put into this that stand alone, they just had nowhere else to go so I will put them here. I hope you understand what this is about, it made sense to me at least. **

**This is in the point of view of a random unclaimed camper that was on the gods side of the war.  
**

"What did they do? What did they do to my city?"

The voice sounded tight and for a moment her heart leaped to her throat, because for a moment she had thought for sure that a god had been behind her. For a moment she had been sure that they had come to help.

The voice had sounded tight and angry and _powerful_, just like she had thought a god would sound. She had turned her head sure that she would see the almighty Zeus standing behind them trying to defend his city, the other gods radiating power as they stood behind him ready to protect the city they inhabited.

Only the gods were off fighting the great Typhoon.

Yet... when she turned she could have sworn she saw a god.

He was standing there looking down on the city with a barely visible frown on his face. His entire body seemed to _glow_ with power. His eyes were hard that promised pain for the person who dared upset _his_ city.

She knew that the gods ruled the city, but she also knew without a doubt that this was_ his_ city.

She had never met him before today. They had always managed to never be at camp at the same time, but she had heard of him.

The son of Poseidon, retriever of Zeus' master bolt, killer of the minotaur, defeater of Ares, sailor of the sea of monsters, defeater of Polyphemus, killer of the Nemean lion, bearer of the sky... so many titles that she was hard pressed to remember them all. She had heard the other campers speak of him with fondness, hatred, love, and jealousy in their voices.

And she had never understood why.

She tried not to judge people based on what they had done or what their titles were, she preferred to base them on _who_ they were. So she had been a little unsure about letting Percy Jackson lead her into battle, but she wanted to defend her unknown mother, and maybe get recognized by her, so she had followed him.

Only now she had met him.

_"What did they do? What did they do to my city?" _

He had stood regal and proud, almost like a King. His voice had left no room for doubt that he was looking down on his own city, the city that he was fighting to defend.

He had been a god in those few seconds. Nothing below a god. Standing on a cliff overlooking his land.

She had seen what he could be, she had seen the potential he possessed. Whether he knew it or not; he was meant to lead.

She had glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed what she had, or even acknowledged the words he had spoken.

No one had. And for a moment she wondered if they ever would notice what Percy Jackson was. For now though she just turned around to look out the binoculars again, wondering how on Earth they had missed Percy Jackson.

- . - -

They had done it. They had won the war. It was over. She was standing in the destroyed throne room with a cast around her arm. She was exhausted but alert because the gods had just taken their seats. The speech that followed was long and boring about the bravery of the gods and she didn't really remember any of it. Then he began to thank the leaders of the war. She began to pay attention wondering what on Earth they could give Percy that would make up for what he did for them, but she knew there was only one possible answer.

So she watched as Thalia was told her Hunters ranks would be filled, as Tyson became the general of the armies of Olympus, as Grover feinted as he became a member of the Counsel of the Cloven Elders, and Annabeth became the Architect of Olympus.

Then it was Percy's turn and he walked forward with an air of confidence around him still seeming to glow with power despite how exhausted he undoubtedly was. He was probably nervous, but he didn't let it show, or at least not very noticeably, he probably thought he looked nervous and afraid. He didn't. In fact she saw that part of him again,just for a second she saw the part of him that she had mistaken for a god.

Then they offered it to him, they offered him godhood. He looked around at everyone for only a second before he spoke.

"No,"

And she somehow was not in the least bit surprised.

The rest of the room however, was silent. Everyone thinking they _must _have misheard the answer. She knew better. She could see it in his eyes, there was a glint of resolve in his eyes and she knew there would be no changing his mind.

He tried to explain to the gods, but there would be no understanding from them. They had been immortal far to long.

Then, he asked for another gift. He asked slowly at first, trying to tell them what he wanted. "From now on, I want you to properly recognize the children of the gods. All the children of all the gods."

Then when he knew he had their attention he kept going. He slowly started to speak with a little more inner strength that only she had managed to glimpse at earlier. "Kronos couldn't have risen if it hadn't been for a lot of demigods who felt abandoned by their parents. They felt angry, resentful, and unloved, and they had good reasons."

His voice had taken on an accusing tone and know he was standing tall staring Zeus right in the eye, he was looking at all the gods right in the eye. But he wasn't done yet.

"No more undetermined children. I want you to promise to claim your children - all your demigod children - by the time they turn thirteen. They wont be left out in the world on their own at the mercy of monsters. I want them claimed and brought to camp so they can be trained right, and survive."

The last part was an order. And everyone seemed just as taken back by it as she had first been when she had seen him proclaim Manhattan as his city. His eyes were now burning with passion as he spoke. He defended the minor gods and their children and when Hades interrupted him he pushed it aside like it was no big deal. He continued to _tell_ the gods what they were going to do and when it was finally done there was a quick moment of silence, barely even there, but in that moment he and Zeus made eye contact. She would never understand just what they communicated in the second that they stared at each other, and she didn't think she ever would. One thing she did know though was that was the moment Zeus and everyone else in the room understood.

Percy turned to leave but Poseidon called out for the Honor Guard. And he left the room with Tyson's proclamation of him being the Hero of Olympus, and his big brother.

As he left she looked up as there was a glow from above her head, glancing up she saw a symbol float there for a second before dissolving away.

Smiling she looked around the room, people were slowly leaving but it was in everyone's heads now though. They had all witnessed it.

"Thanks Percy." She whispered before walking out of the throne room.

There was something special about Percy Jackson, and now everyone knew it.


End file.
